Page 27 of Love is a Drum Beat
“Those are called vegetables. Trust me, there’s plenty of food here.”
It didn’t escape his notice that she didn’t respond to the trust me part. Instead she reached a hand out. He pulled her to her feet and wrapped an arm around her waist to take weight off the injured foot.
He got her to her bed and helped her in. “I’ll go cook. You should have a better diet, anyway.”
She grabbed his arm when he turned to leave. “You don’t have to do all this for me, you know.”
“I know.” He turned away, but her voice called to him when he reached the doorway.
“I do trust you.” Her voice was so soft he wondered if he imagined it. “If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here.”
He sent her a smile over his shoulder and walked out. It wasn’t until he started cleaning up the pickle juice that he realized for the first time, he forgot to be nervous.
9
Jo
“Dax!” Jo called.
He poked his head in the room. “Something wrong?”
Her brow furrowed. This wasn’t right, it wasn’t okay. Why had she let him talk her into eating his food instead of takeout?
“I can’t believe you did this to me.” She stared down at her plate. He’d made pasta with garlic, broccoli, and bell peppers mixed in.
He crossed his arms. “You don’t like the food?”
She pointed her fork at him. “Veggies arenotsupposed to taste good, Dax. That goes against nature. It’s an affront to God, and I will never forgive you.”
He twisted his lips into a half smile. Something was different about Dax this evening. When he bandaged her foot, there’d been no blushing, no stuttering. It was almost like talking to a friend. Were they friends? He’d opened his house to her, so probably.
Her words came back to her.I do trust you.She always had. Even when they didn’t like each other, she’d known he was a good guy.
Just a bit… awkward.
“I’m glad you like it.”
She scowled at him. “You’re dead to me.”
He flashed her another one of his smiles—no longer rare. Maybe she just hadn’t known him before. For all she knew, Dax could be a happy, confident, smiling man when he wasn’t at their rockstar support meetings.
Though, she doubted it.
“Are you finished?”
She nodded and tried to roll from the bed to take her plate to the kitchen.
Dax’s eyes narrowed. “Stay.”
“I’m not a dog, Dax.”
“No,” he said. “But you do need to be on bedrest. Give me your plate.”
“Why, Dax Nelson, I didn’t know you had a stubborn, demanding side. I kind of like it.” She was testing his patience, she could tell. Finally, she handed him her plate, and he left.
Her lips tipped up into a smile. He probably hated having her here. Dax was the loner of the group, the guy one would expect to spend all his free time playing video games or doing magic tricks. She snorted at that.
Her phone buzzed, but she already knew who it was. Noah wasn’t happy with her, even though she’d told him to stay away for the good of his new family. He’d live. Maybe he’d even be grateful when all was said and done.
